1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detachable structure for an ink cartridge in a printer.
2. Description of Related Art
With respect to an inkjet printer, printing speed becomes higher and an image size to be printed becomes larger in recent days and thereby ink consumption increases. Therefore, larger ink supply amount from an ink cartridge to an inkjet printer is required. In a conventional ink supply method for an inkjet printer, an ink supply needle is inserted into an ink container in an ink cartridge in order to extract ink. However, ink flow amount is small in the conventional method and thereby the conventional method cannot meet the requirement of larger ink supply amount due to higher printing speed and larger image size. Therefore, a joint mechanism with an inner stopper and an O-ring is used to make supply amount larger in recent days.
Compared with ink supplying through the ink supply needle, ink dripping from a joint tends to increase according to the above-mentioned joint mechanism. The ink dripping onto the ink cartridge, the inside of the printer and so on may taint user's hands and clothes or an attachment section of the ink cartridge in the printer. Especially, ink tends to drip off in a detachable structure of an ink cartridge as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B.
FIG. 11A shows a coupled state of an ink supply port 230 of a conventional ink cartridge and a cartridge holder 310 of a printer. An inner stopper 231 provided in the ink supply port 230 is pushed inward by an insertion rod 312 provided on the cartridge holder 310 so as to open an ink flow path 230a communicating with an ink flow path 311 in the cartridge holder 310. Ink contained within the ink container 220 is supplied to the ink flow path 311 through the ink flow path 230a within the supply port 230.
On the other hand, FIG. 11B shows an uncoupled state of the ink supply port 230 and the cartridge holder 310. Ink remaining in an inner space 310a of the cartridge holder 310 cannot be held within the inner space only by an O-ring 314 provided in a joint section and thereby flow out from the joint section.
A structure for solving the above-mentioned issue is proposed in Japanese patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-290349 (Patent Document 1), for example. In an ink cartridge of the structure includes an ink containing section and an ink supplying section. Pins are provided on a surface of the ink cartridge on which an ink supply port is also provided. Each of the pins is extended outward from an opening hole of the ink supply port. Therefore, ink dripping from the ink supply port is held between the pins due to its capillary force.